“Akinkunmi failed to meet his work obligations for 3 weeks”- Nidful founder, Isaac Emmanuel, responds to unpaid salaries allegations

In response to the recent report on allegations of unpaid salaries and questionable employment practices at Nidful Security, the company’s founder, Isaac Emmanuel has issued a detailed statement addressing the claims against his company. 

The initial report, published on August 19, 2024, outlined accusations made by a former employee, Akinkunmi Oyewole, regarding unpaid wages and unprofessional management practices at the firm. Akinwunmi listed delayed contracts, payment irregularities, communication breakdown, and zero feedback on work done in his allegations. 

“He owes me ₦350,000 and has decided not to pay up,” the former employee said. 

In his response, the founder provides his side of the story, questions the integrity of the initial publication, and defends Nidful’s approach to employee management.

Emmanuel addressed the allegations, suggesting that the issues raised by Akinkunmi were unique to him and did not reflect the human resources management practices within the company. 

He noted that Akinkunmi failed to mention that he had refused to fulfil his work obligations for three weeks and two days, and was actively involved in other projects not related to Nidful. This failure, according to the founder, led to the decision to withhold payment in line with the company’s protocols.

“Akin failed to make any commits to the project for 3 weeks and 2 days, despite being an active participant in other projects (unrelated to his job at Nidful) during that period. When asked about this, he provided explanations that unfortunately did not align with our expectations of accountability,” Emmanuel wrote in an emailed response to Technext. 

The founder also emphasised that Nidful provided all necessary resources to ensure a comfortable working environment for its employees, including a staff lounge, internet and on-site accommodations. He argued that Akinkunmi’s complaints were isolated and did not reflect the experience of other employees at the company.

In defending Nidful’s management practices, the founder outlined the company’s grievance resolution procedures, which involve direct dialogue between the employee and their supervisor, with potential escalation to higher management if necessary. He suggested that Akinkunmi did not exhaust these channels before making his grievances public, and questioned why he was the only employee to raise such issues.

“Ordinarily, there are questions to be asked such as: why is he the only one complaining about funds/salaries? Did he reach out to the legal team? Did he reach and exhaust his rights prior to his acclaimed holier-than-thou post?”

In response to Akinwunmi’s claims that the work was done, Emmanuel wrote:

“It’s common knowledge that no matter how efficient your API or your project infrastructure is, if the client side (frontend per se) doesn’t exist, it’s next to bullshit. 

“If an execution does not meet our expectations, we address these concerns directly with the involved team member. In Akin’s case, there were discussions about the quality of his output, and his failure to address these concerns resulted in his removal from the project. We strive for continuous communication to ensure any issues are resolved promptly, but unfortunately, this did not happen in this instance.”

Responding to allegations this same issue had come up at a previous company, Groomlog, Emmanuel says he “cannot speak for everyone’s experience”, and he has learnt from the “past”

“At Nidful, we have implemented more robust measures to ensure that all employees are clear on their responsibilities, deadlines, and expectations around project delivery. Any issues are addressed swiftly, with a focus on resolution and accountability,” he wrote. 

Emmanuel says he could have exercised the right to sue as Akinwunmi is in breach of the NDA “but there are times you just have to let some persons lollygag and watch events unfold naturally.”

Technext’s response to the founder’s accusation of “bad journalism”

In journalism, it is essential to provide a balanced view by seeking responses from all parties involved in a story. As stated in our initial report, efforts were made to reach out to Nidful’s management for comment before publication, but no response was received at that time.

Given the public interest in the allegations and the need for transparency, the report was published to ensure that the concerns raised were brought to light.

Journalism’s role is to inform the public, and while it is preferable to include all perspectives in the initial publication, sometimes deadlines and the urgency of the matter require the story to be told as it stands at that moment.

The decision to publish was made with these considerations in mind, and the subsequent inclusion of the founder’s response is part of our commitment to ongoing, balanced coverage of the story.

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